Source: WIS TV, www.wistv.com

Saluda County Emergency Management Director Josh Morton says an overnight fire caused extensive damage to a chicken processing facility at Amick Farms in Batesburg.

Crews from multiple counties battled the fire throughout Saturday night and well into Sunday afternoon.

“This has been a collaborative effort amongst a lot of people,” said Josh Morton, Emergency Management Director for Saluda County.

A 19-hour effort is how long it took crews, including those from neighboring counties, to put the fire out. The fire started around 9:30 p.m. Saturday and lasted until nearly 4:30 p.m. Sunday at a processing facility at Amick Farms, one of the largest chicken production plants in South Carolina.

Five fire crews from Saluda County initially responded with the Batesburg-Leesville Fire Department. As firefighters battled the fire overnight, they needed to call for backup.

“After we got on scene and began working, we started seeing we were going to need additional manpower,” Morton said. “At that point, we reached out to state fire mobilization through the state fire marshal’s office and they were able to help us get some assistance from some of the surrounding counties.”

Saluda Emergency Management Director Josh Morton says there is extensive damage inside the building. Morton says there were no injuries and the maintenance workers in the building at the time of the fire were able to escape.

“We had a lot of those crews here overnight, and then, this morning around 9 o’clock, we had brought in some additional crews from Lexington County to help relieve some of our folks who had been here since 9 o’clock last night,” Morton said.

Amick Farms said in a statement sent to WIS “We appreciate the extraordinary efforts of our local emergency responders. We are currently assessing the damage and conducting an investigation to determine the cause. Appropriate measures are being taken to best serve our team members, growers, and our customers.”